Raven Feathers
by Lupa Altre
Summary: In which Hinata is bubbly, cheerful, clumsy, a volleyball idiot, and most certainly not human. How did Karasuno know this? It probably had something to do with the glowing, slit-orange eyes, and massive pair of pitch-black wings sprouting from his shoulders, spread wide and raised towards the heavens. "I'm not a crow, I'm a raven! There's a big difference, I think...?" Drabble Fic
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and any Oc's, this is for entertainment only.**

On a completely unrelated note, timeline? What timeline? Ain't nobody got time for that. Aka I'm not going to bother with adjusting things so they match up with certain dates and times.

* * *

 **How it all started**

Sugawara Koushi, age eight, was running around the park nearest his house. He had been allowed outside for today, and was, naturally, excited. The only thing that would make it better would be if he could play volleyball, but he was a mild-mannered child, and was satisfied with what he had.

When he had been outside for about an hour, and was beginning to tire out, Sugawara noticed a weird noise coming from the nearby bushes. It was a frantic, kind of rough and squeaky noise, plus the sound of something knocking against the bushes. It kind of sounded like one of the birds he had heard when it landed on his windowsill, but different. He was curious, so he scrambled over to the bush, not considering the potential danger. Such casual disregard for the consequences of an action, as only children can pull off.

At least Sugawara exhibited some caution while moving the leaves aside to find whatever had made the sound. He carefully pushed the leaves around, searching, and jumped in shock when the rustling came again, but from right beside him. Losing all wariness in his excitement, he quickly moved over to the leaves and pushed them aside, grinning when he stumbled across his target.

However, the grin quickly fell from his lips when he got a good look. It was a massive bird, with feathers a deep and glossy black that shimmered with blues and purples in the light. The beak and talons were a matching, though more dull, black, and gleamed almost menacingly. A shocking contrast to its coloring, the sharp eyes were a brilliant, glowing orange color. For a brief moment, Sugawara was entranced by those eyes, before his mothering instincts, already powerful even at his young age, kicked in and had him snapping out of his awe.

He wasn't an expert on birds, but it was pretty obvious from the awkward angle of its wing and the blood matting its feathers that the bird was hurt. With a better look at the situation, he recognized the sounds it was making as ones of pain. Not thinking of the damage it could do with those wicked talons and sharp beak, he reached out for the bird. It went silent, gaze focusing on him, and feathers puffing up slightly in fear. The attempt at intimidation was unfruitful however, as the boy still didn't hesitate.

At this time, an ordinary animal would lash out, probably leaving bloody furrows in the boy's arm. He was no ordinary animal, though. He was a total softie who couldn't stand the thought of hurting someone else, so even with the thought that he was about to be killed by this dangerous human circling through his head, he simply cowered.

Luckily, Sugawara recognized his body language as being similar to the frightened stray cats he had previously rescued.

The mothering instincts are strong in this one.

Anyways, seeing how frightened the bird was, he stopped reaching out, and instead held his hands up in clear view. Meeting the birds intense, almost hypnotizing gaze, he began to speak in a soothing voice.

"Hey, I promise I won't hurt you. It's just that you look really hurt, so I wanted to try and help. If you come over here, I'll just take you back home and see if I can find someone to help. I won't hurt you, promise. Well, sometimes it hurts when my scratches are getting fixed up, but it will help make it better. Momma always says the pain is to show its healing."

The silver-haired child was expecting to be at this for a while. With the cats he had rescued, it took a lot of talking in a soothing voice before they would relax and come to him. He was gearing up for a long, one-sided conversation, when the bird carefully stood and, on wobbly legs, shuffled over to him. Sugawara felt even more worried at its unsteady gait, and the blood dripping off its feathers to stain the grass red didn't help.

The bird, recognizing the words from the human language it was learning, understood only part of the sentence. It did know enough to understand he wanted to help. Far more trusting than most of its species, it immediately believed him.

Finally, it's limping shuffle-esque thing brought it close enough to the boy. Exhausted, the bird simply allowed itself to collapse into his arms, and looked up with trust-filled eyes.

Sugawara was glad it hadn't taken long, not bothering with thoughts about why it came to him so easily. Children rarely considered such things, simply accepting them as they were. Lifting the bird as he stood, he started to hurry back home, distractedly marvelling at the soft silkiness of the feathers. They felt even better than the softest, comfiest things he had touched. He expected the feathers to be stiff, what with how they looked and what he had heard about birds.

* * *

 **Meeting the parents**

Sugawara's mother arched an eyebrow at the sight of her son with a strange, large bird in his arms. However upon noticing it was injured, she immediately went from suspicious to concerned. Koushi had to get his mothering instincts from somewhere, after all. Efficiently, and used to her son's tendency of bringing home injured animals, she grabbed her bag and led her son out. Grabbing a blanket on the way, she tossed it to her son.

Koushi was used to this routine, and wrapped the bird up as he climbed into the backseat of the family car. Soon enough, they were on the way to the vet, and his mother was nodding along as he told her in great detail how he had found the bird. Along with what he had been playing, how much fun he was having, and a few other non-essential details. He was a child, after all.

His mother hummed in thought, finally nodding. "It seems like he was a domesticated bird." At her son's confused look, she corrected herself. "I mean he lived with humans, so he's used to them. He probably got too big or taking care of him was more work than they expected."

Koushi looked shocked at the idea. "Why would someone do something like that? That's wrong!"

His mother sighed. "Koushi-chan, not everyone is a good person. People do mean things sometimes, just because they think it's easier, or even fun. It's a lot harder to do the right thing, Koushi. Personally though, I think it's worth it."

* * *

 **Angry Birds**

Sugawara squirmed under the judging gaze of the bird sitting in front of him. Bandages wrapped around its wing, and a splint kept the broken bone in place. The vet's office had been, well, an experience.

"I told you it might hurt a little! But it's better now, which means you shouldn't be angry! You should be happy, right?"

The judging stare continued. Sugawara squirmed some more. Suddenly, after a few minutes of this tense atmosphere, the bird turned its orange gaze away and made a weird huffing noise. Sugawara blinked. The bird looked at his expression, and made the noise again. Slowly, a look of realization dawned upon his face. It was laughing. That bird was totally laughing at him! A red flush colored his face. He was being teased by that bird!

"Hey, quit laughing at me! Stop it! I helped you, you should act properly grateful, right!"

The bird composed itself, and staring at him, gave a low bow. Sugawara gaped some more. The bird started making the huffing sound again, turning its head to the side. His eyebrow twitched.

"Quit that!"

* * *

 **Little Giants**

"Hey, bird. Look at that." The bird cocked its head, following his gaze to the TV. It chuffed slightly, shifting to get more comfortable, and watched with him.

"That's volleyball, bird. It's definitely the best sport you can play! There's no feeling quite like it." The bird watched curiously, seeing the humans running around on screen. The camera suddenly switched perspective, just in time to see the smallest human jump up and spike, scoring a point for the team. Even though a raven didn't have the facial muscles to display a range of emotions, Sugawara managed to recognize the sense of awe the bird got from that moment. He smirked in pride, happy to see the bird finally taking an interest.

"That right there, is the Little Giant. Usually, volleyball is a sport where height is su~per important. You have to be able to get over the net to both block and score, so you need to be tall. But that guy, the Little Giant, he doesn't need height. He can jump so high, and is so skilled at mid-air battles, that he doesn't need to be tall. He's even his team's ace!"

The bird eagerly soaked in every piece of information. So cool! A human who could fly, he'd bet the others hadn't seen anything like that before. Even though he had wings to soar with, he couldn't help but feel awed. After all, flying with a body meant for it, and flying when it's something you shouldn't be capable of are two very different things.

"You know, bird, someday I want to be on that team. I want to play volleyball with Karasuno, and I'll go to nationals with them!" The raven refocused on him upon hearing this, and upon seeing the determination held in his eyes, got an idea. He already owed him a life debt, after all. This would fulfill it.

Even if he was picked on for his tiny size in all of his forms, (while he seemed to be a massive bird, among the rest of his kind he was tiny), he could still fly without wings, like only a human could.

* * *

 **Farewell, my feathered friend**

Over the months he had been healing, Sugawara and bird had grown really close. Despite being different species, it was hard to find one without the other. On a side note, bird now had an excellent grasp of the human Japanese language. Anyways, considering how close they were, it was only natural that Sugawara was crying pretty loudly as bird prepared to leave.

Over the last months, Sugawara had become abnormally good at figuring out bird's moods and feelings, though his parents thought he was just being imaginative. He knew that bird wasn't going to be coming back this time, thus, the crying. Bird made a chuffing noise, shuffling onto his shoulder and rubbing his face against Sugawara's cheek. Tears dripped onto his feathers, but the comfort at least managed to make Sugawara give a tremulous smile.

Seeing this, the bird whapped him across the head with one powerful wing. When he shouted in pain and turned to glare at bird, the creature used its other wing to point towards a photograph sitting on the mantle. It was one his mother had taken, with Sugawara grinning wide enough that his eyes closed, with birds massive wings spread wide behind the two from his place on Suga's shoulder.

Understanding the intention behind the action, Sugawara sucked up his tears and snot, and carried bird outside for one last time. Holding up an arm, bird hopped to the outstretched limb, and turned to meet grey eyes with orange. They shared one last look, before bird beat his wings once, twice, then three times, creating a rather strong breeze to blow into the others face. Sugawara squinted against the wind, but his eyes opened fully once again upon feeling the weight on his arm lifting off.

Wide eyes stared upwards, watching silently and gleaming with tears once again as bird circled around his head a few times, gave one last look, and flew away. Absently, he stretched a hand outward, up to the sky. Behind him, his mother smiled softly, looking at the newest picture on her camera.

In it, Sugawara was at the middle, arm reaching out towards bird, whose form was highlighted by the sun. There was oddly a sense of both wistfulness and anticipation about the picture. Truly, bird was one of the most majestic creatures she had ever seen. His glossy feathers naturally outshone even the most well cared-for birds she had ever seen, she had seen his intense orange eyes stop humans and animals alike in their tracks upon meeting them, and his powerful form could steal your breath away. He wasn't a pet, she had seen it from the start, and she couldn't explain his odd, un-birdlike tendencies. She hadn't let her Koushi-chan name him, because she could tell that it wouldn't be accepted.

She had the oddest feeling that someday, they would come to know bird's name anyways.

* * *

 **Five Flowers, One Soul**

Delphinium, boldness. Freesia, spirited. Hydrangea, perseverance. Calla, regal. Finally, the largest flower on the top, Ranunculus, radiance. All in varying shades of purple, which represented royalty. They were wrapped around each other, and kept his hair tied in a high ponytail, as was his culture. His people wore their hair long, to symbolize remembrance and respect of what had been done for them in the past. While they were one of the most progressive species, they also believed you could not forget what had already been done, or you would be doomed to repeat your mistakes.

When the children turned five, they would immediately be taken to the most powerful Sight Magic user in their domain. There, they would have their strongest traits read. Five flowers would bloom in their soul to represent these traits, to be drawn out when they turned ten. The hair ties his people wore were actually these five flowers. In times of celebration or great emotion, the flowers would grow until they covered all of their hair in a blooming mass of bright colors and petals.

* * *

 **Hinata Shouyo**

"Hinata!"

"It's Hinata, guys!"

"Look, he's back!"

The object of everyone's attention walked down the streets, jumping about, waving, and smiling at everyone with the force and warmth of the sun. He had bright orange, luxurious hair that fell to his ankles when untied, though in it's current high-ponytail, it was a bit higher.

Usually, his people had dark, dull hair colors, like black, brown, or grey. So people like himself and Sexual Harassment-sama, who had bright orange and gold hair respectively, drew a lot of attention.

Several people of both genders sighed dreamily upon seeing his smile. It was only natural, considering he was the most beautiful person in their entire domain, which included 30 million ravens.

Silky, bright hair. Entrancing orange eyes. Smooth skin and delicate bone structure. An attractive face and petite, well-proportioned body shape with the most _amazing_ muscles. Wide, powerful wings with feathers a glossy black so deep it seemed to have blue and purple tints when the light hit them. The unusual purple flowers that represented royalty only added another layer of appeal, even if his family was no longer ruler of anything except the cooking world.

A beautiful, bright and friendly ex-royal who few people know much about. It's no wonder people were fawning over him. His female form was just as entrancing, though he was usually in a masculine mood, like right now.

Of course, no one actually pursued him, for two reasons. For the older generations, it was because he was _only 23_. That was barely out of infancy! He'd barely be the raven equivalent of human pre-teens when he hit 30, not an actual teen until 35, and adulthood was far away at age 60. Their people physically matured at the same rate as humans, until age 21 where their aging froze, but mentally they grew far slower. Sure they thought he was beautiful, but it was a feeling like that of a proud relative. Well, usually. Every society has their black sheep. Of course that wasn't a problem for the younger generation. What stopped _them_ , was a someone.

* * *

 **Sexual Harassment-sama**

"Alright guys, I'm off to talk to sexual harassment-sama!" These words, said in a cheerful tone, had the group of young pre-teens he was with paling. One chuckled nervously. "You know if anyone else called him that, they probably wouldn't get to see the next sunrise…" Hinata blinked in confusion.

"What are you talking about. Sure he can be annoying, but it's not like he's dangerous!"

' _Not to you, maybe!'_ Was the shared thought of everyone listening.

After all, Hinata's "Sexual Harassment-sama" was more commonly known as the crown prince. Calm, cool, and intelligent, anything that annoyed or got in his way was quickly removed. However, he was fair, and while he would certainly terrorize someone who annoyed him, he wouldn't use his power maliciously without good cause.

The only discrepancy in his Ice Prince routine was when he was with Hinata, his childhood friend, who was also his only friend. And obsession. Though the politically correct term was crush. Around Hinata, he would actually smile, occasionally laugh, and sport a semi-permanent amused expression. Along with properly living up to the moniker Hinata gave him. It had been quite shocking to walk through the gardens and stumble across the scene of the prince trying and failing to kiss Hinata, who was oblivious to the reason and thought he was being made fun of.

It seemed the prince's tendency of teasing Hinata in their childhood had backfired on him. Because of how often Hinata had been picked on when he was just a shrimp who was ridiculously good at flying, he was now completely oblivious to matters of the heart. You would have to declare the intent to sex him up to his face, and even then he might somehow misinterpret it. The prince was both an object of respect and pity due to this. And jealousy, because _Hinata_. He got to spend nearly all his time with the number one most adored person among the ravens.

"Sexual Harassment-sama!" Dramatically slamming the doors open, Hinata bounced through the doorway. Prince Otsuki Yagami winced slightly at the name he couldn't seem to get rid of, and simultaneously gained a small smile considering who it was that arrived. He had fallen for Hinata back when he was still a shrimp whose personality (and hair) was so bright that even he didn't notice just how attractive his features were. He fell for him long before, the newly-realized attractiveness just made holding back a lot harder. It would be great if Hinata was a little more body shy, because at least then he wouldn't have gotten that terrible nickname.

He had been dealing with hormones at the time, okay!? Don't judge him!

"Hinata." He added a throaty purr to his voice, more out of habit than anything since he knew Hinata wouldn't actually notice. Ah, the days when he thought such things would actually work. Sure, Hinata had pretty bluntly said he thought Otsuki was good looking, but the orange-haired boy couldn't even comprehend the idea of someone else liking him or even considering him attractive. Those morons who teased the other about how no one would ever like someone like him had really screwed up his confidence in his appearance and personality. He couldn't even really do anything about it since he had _been_ one of those morons. Hinata just thought he was making fun of him when he tried. If he could, he would tell his child self that teasing is a horrible, horrible way to make your crush like you.

"Hey, I need your help! Alright, so I've acquired a life debt, and to fulfill it, I'm going to pretend to be a human for a few years!" Otsuki blinked several times, thinking he had heard wrong.

"What."

"I need to go to school with little humans!"

The prince felt a headache oncoming. Bringing a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose, he heaved a sigh. "Start at the beginning."

* * *

 **Being human**

"Man, sexual harassment-sama is really smart! I wouldn't have thought of this at all!"

It turned out that his hastily thrown together plan to show up and start attending school until he got into Karasuno and played volleyball with Sugawara-san wouldn't work. So sexual harassment-sama helped him plan things out a little better. He found a nearby family that would act as his guardians, sign him up for school, and give him the records and backstory to show he existed in the human world. It was pretty lucky that they even shared his last name, Hinata.

He had gotten some medical records and a birth certificate, along with other papers that he didn't really bother with learning about. All he knew was it would help him blend in with the humans.

Reaching the address he was assigned to, he flew in through the window, landing on the floor in his full-raven form. The kind-looking woman in front of him blinked briefly, and gave an admiring look that he didn't notice. Seeing how unsurprised she looked, he found that part of himself that let him change forms and _pulled_. Warm tides of his magic flooded his body, and in ten seconds he had completely changed forms. Well, almost. He glared slightly behind himself at the massive wings that were now proportionate to his human form's size, and pulled a little more, finally forcing them to disappear under his skin.

The woman in front of him giggled slightly, smiling at his actions. Seeing the look, rather than be offended he smiled back. After all, smiling people were the best, even if they weren't showing it properly, cause it meant they were happy. It was a pretty great feeling to know you made someone happy in any way.

Of course, when he went to take a step he promptly face-planted. It felt really weird for his limbs to be so much shorter than his head said they should be. Oh, on another note he now looked the same as he did when he was taken on the same appearance as the one he had when he was six years old. He was genuinely de-aged and would seem to be six years old no matter what you did to check, and the process wasn't reversible. He would grow as a normal human just like he did before. Well, he retained his mental maturity at least, which actually wasn't saying much considering he was still a child in terms of Raven maturity. Nine years until he was the equivalent of a pre-teen. Nine years until he got to Karasuno High and would play with Sugawara again.

"Are you Hinata Shouyou-kun?" The nice looking lady asked, still smiling. He blushed in embarrassment, and stuttered out an answer.

"Y-yes ma'am! Ah, Hinata Shouyou, six years old, will be seven in June, star sign is Gemini-Cancer cusp, my favorite food is Tamago Kake Gohan, I like volleyball and dislike being teased, and my dream is to fly without wings!" He panted slightly upon finishing, then flushed an even brighter red upon realising he had rambled. "S-sorry…"

Hinata-san just chuckled again, already feeling affectionate towards this funny, sweet child. "Alright, so we're going to be a family from now on. There's no need to be formal."

"F-family?" He blushed again. "S-so, Haha-ue?" She frowned slightly at the use of the formal manner of saying mother, but quickly smiled before the nervous boy could see it. She didn't want a misunderstanding to occur after all. "If that's what you're comfortable with, Shouyou-chan. I'd like it if you called me less formally though."

Hinata didn't hear the last part, having spaced out upon being given permission. A family, he had a family. A wonderful, kind, beautiful, gentle mother who could look at him without flinching.

"I promise, I won't be a burden to you, haha-ue!" Stating this in a cheerful manner, he didn't understand the look on her face. But she seemed to like him, so he didn't worry about it.

"I'll properly pay for my stay as soon as I'm able too, and I won't take up space in your house by making you keep me here, so you don't need to worry about that! I'm sorry that I'll be eating your food, but I'll help around the house to make up for it!" He seemed so joyous and excited that the woman didn't comprehend his words for several precious seconds. When the meaning finally hit her, she was horrified, but before she could rebuke his words he had taken her silence as an agreement, and turned to leap out the window, changing into his full-raven form in mid-air as he leapt out. She gave a small gasp, reaching a hand out towards him, but he was already gone.

Shouyou was someone whose pace you couldn't help but get caught up in, so each time he came over, she never succeeded in bringing up him staying with her, and that he didn't actually have to help out because she was happy to care for him, even if his cooking was _divine_. Somehow though, the hurricane that was his personality never let her even think of it, too busy smiling and laughing alongside him, only to remember long after he had left.

Well, at least he and Natsu got along like a house on fire. Even when she was an infant he was her favorite person, her first word was nii-san, and once she got a little older she was well on her way to developing a brother complex.

* * *

 **The woman who once held a place in the sun**

Hinata Kagura, who never had a maiden name, was once the most beautiful woman among all the ravens. She held a kind and generous, yet strong personality, and people flocked to her in droves. She found joy in the simplest things, and held to the belief that while life can be hard, it's still worth living. In more difficult times, this became the thought that, I've made it this far, I won't give up now.

Even with how far she has now fallen, her refusal to give up is something that one can respect.

One day long ago, this lovely woman had been running her restaurant just as she usually was. It specialized in a variety of dishes, each kept fresh with magic, and was considered one of the best restaurants around. With every dish, she put all her love and joy for life in it, and served it with a smile. The atmosphere of the place was always bright, and no matter how terrible your day might have been, everything would seem just a little better as soon as you walked in the door.

On this particular day, Kagura didn't have many customers. It was very busy, and few people had any free time. She was cleaning the counter when the door swung open, and when she looked up her mouth went dry. A rather handsome man, around her age, with hair an orange so bright it felt like she was staring into a Winter Bonfire, stood silhouetted against the skyline. It wasn't his appearance that caught her attention so well, though. It was his magic.

It gave off a warm feeling, like faithfulness and warmth and burning passion all at once. On that day, Kagura fell in love.

Eventually, the stranger whose name was revealed to be Hinata Amagawa, which meant heaven's river, fell for her in return. He was a good man, it was true, and he had all those things that his magic said he did. But she was young, and they were foolish, so she always ignored that part of his magic she didn't like, the flower in his hair that meant beware, because flower meanings could be interpreted in different ways, and the bad feeling she got was just foolishness. He had another flower that meant fragile, and she thought it represented his delicate, gentle personality. Turns out it meant the fragility of his love for her. When fires burn bright, they also burn fast, until there's nothing left to burn.

Royalty, even if they are royal no longer, are often raised without a full comprehension of the repercussions of their actions. Things are given to them so easily that it is hard to teach them the true worth of things, the worth one can only understand when something is achieved through hard work. Kagura knew he was an ex-royal, knew he had been raised like that, but she thought it didn't matter because it didn't affect him anymore, didn't affect _them_.

Oh, she was wrong. So very wrong.

Because one day, he left. He had grown bored of her, and sure she was still beautiful, but he just wasn't interested any longer. He had found a pretty human woman, and she was pretty interesting too, so he was leaving. That's all the note he left said, because to him, the matter wasn't worth any more consideration. It had always been simple, always been shallow to him, and while he wasn't a bad guy, not mean or cruel or rude, he was shallow.

He didn't understand in the least just how deep Kagura had been.

She was in love, love, _love_ with him, and thought he loved her back. Her love was deep, smoldering, and unwavering, that of someone who would remain forever faithful. His love was bright and passionate and fiery. It was genuine, he truly loved her while it lasted, but things that are hot, burn out faster. To someone like him, it was a simple matter to love and move on. If he had been more empathetic, had more sense, been less shallow, things might have turned out better. Because long-lasting love doesn't burn forever hot and bright. Love that lasts is the slow-burn of a hearth at home, not necessarily powerful or exciting, though sometimes it sparks and flares brighter before it dies back down to smoldering. Lasting love is peace and happiness and comfort in someone else's presence.

Kagura was looking for lasting love.

Amagawa was looking for excitement.

So he moved on and she didn't, and soon enough she had a child with all of her beauty, and _his_ bright bright colors. And she named him Shouyou, flying heaven, because she wanted him to soar freely when she couldn't. He would never be a river, because rivers flow fast and hard and then they're gone, replaced with new water, but he would fly, and she wanted him to hold a piece of his father, even if it was just as the meaning in a name. She was a broken woman now, she knew, and she knew her ways of raising him weren't right, that they hurt her darling heaven. But she couldn't seem to do differently, not anymore.

Once upon a time, she had been strong. Now though, she was far, far too weak. She couldn't look at her own child without remembering orange locks fluttering wildly in the breeze while her beloved heaven's river spun her around, laughing loudly. She knew her desperation to keep him from becoming like his father hurt him terribly, but she couldn't seem to stop.

So she didn't let him sleep in the house, convincing herself this was so he could develop perseverance and determination. He had to work for every single thing he got, including his meals, and she told herself this was so he would value everything he was given. When she taught him how to cook like herself, praise was infrequent and impersonal when it did come, and cold words were the rule, not the exception. She had become so good at deluding herself by now, why not do it some more? So she told herself that her heart didn't hurt when her Shouyou gave her the same loving, adoring smile that he always had even through his harsh treatment at her hands. Shouyou had gotten the best from both of them. He loved both fiercely, and enduringly. A brilliant sun that wouldn't go out for millennia, and there was nothing that stood a chance at extinguishing it. No matter how harsh and cold and unforgiving, his love didn't even dim, stars were, after all, made to survive in those conditions.

She told herself that it was all for the best, as she continued to hurt him and he continued to love her, and whenever that honest part of her spoke up, she would deny it to her deathbed. Because it said that this was her petty sort of revenge on the man who she loved and who left her, her payback on his phantom that seemed to cling to his child with his same orange hair and bright smiles.

Kagura now ran a restaurant that carried the freshest foods and most delicious dishes, but every time you walked in you couldn't help but feel cold.

* * *

 **First day at school**

"Hi! It's nice to meet you all, I hope we get along!" The words were said cheerfully and in a bright, friendly tone. Despite his happy tone, he was bracing himself, and was not mistaken to do so.

"What weird looking hair…"

"Man, his eyes are so creepy, that color isn't normal, and are they _glowing?_ "

"Shrimp."

"What's with that cheery personality, he seems annoying…"

His supernaturally good hearing caught every word, and even though he had gone through this sort of thing before, he wished he couldn't hear them. But he smiled, and bore with it, because Sugawara was there at the end of the road, and even if his friend didn't know about him, he couldn't let him be disappointed.

So when someone stuck a leg out and he, naturally clumsy and unused to this body as he was, tripped over it, he just smiled and apologized. Because sometimes kindness was enough.

As he headed to his seat with the sound of laughter behind him, he smiled a slightly more genuine smile. Even if kindness wasn't enough for them, it was enough for him, and that was what mattered.

* * *

 **Little things**

"Hey, hey, could you teach me please?" Pleading orange eyes blinked up at the man who towered over him. The adult volleyball player winced at the look, feeling the need to punch something to feel manly again after that amount of cuteness. He wouldn't be so easily swayed though, even though this had been going on for a while already. Maybe being a little harsher would scare him off.

"A tiny little thing like you? As if! Do you really think you can succeed in volleyball as anything but a libero?"

Those adorable eyes suddenly sharpened, pupils elongating into slits, and he glared up at the taller person. "Do you really think I care about whether or not it's possible? Sometimes, it's the little things that matter, after all." The adult looked slightly shocked, but soon enough he shrugged and gave a breezy sigh. It seemed as though he had lost this one.

"Alright then, little big thing. It seems you're pretty into this, but let's see if you can actually keep it up." Hinata blinked at the weird nickname, but shrugged since it didn't matter. He was learning volleyball, which meant he was finally going to fly like a human!

The adult grumbled to himself, and couldn't help but wonder why he agreed so easily. Usually a little bit of talking big wouldn't be nearly enough to get him to agree. There was something about this shrimp, that made it so you couldn't help but get caught up in his pace.

Whatever. He had a new student to teach, and after a few minutes of watching the kid fail miserably, he sighed and stepped forwards.

"You really weren't kidding about needing a teacher, huh, little big thing? Now watch, cause this is how you do it without falling on your face…"

* * *

 **Charisma**

Normal influential people had charisma like a planet, with a gravitational pull that unconsciously dragged you in and didn't let you go, not that you'd want it to, because space was cold and lonely, and it was so much warmer here with them.

Hinata Shouyou meanwhile, had the charisma of a star. A pull so powerful that entire planets revolved around it, unable to escape. Most people built worlds with their charisma. Hinata built solar systems.

Looking at it that way, he was more like a black hole. But while it was true he drew people in and didn't ever let them go once they got past a certain point, he gave as well. The warmth he gave off was enough to brighten things up, and that comfortable heat wasn't something you wanted to miss.

So he was like a star. He held on, and gave out pieces of himself, and without him worlds would wither up and die.

* * *

 **Love comes in different forms**

When Hinata started playing volleyball, he did it for Sugawara, who was his friend and had helped him lots. Yet somehow, he one day woke up, went to practice, and came across the realisation that he really truly loved it.

Now, when he got up early and stayed out late, it was because his head was filled with thoughts of, "just one more toss", "just one more minute", one more this, one more that, get up earlier so I have more time to practice, go to bed later so I have more time to practice. Run everywhere, jump whenever you can as much as you can, because you need strong muscles to fly. It wasn't long before his jumps had people gasping in awed astonishment, his speed left most people in the dust, and his stamina was downright monstrous.

He still tripped pretty frequently though.

Even though his athleticism was unnaturally good, he was still pretty clumsy, and his technique wasn't something you could look impressed about. His receives kind of sucked, and really the only thing he had going for him was his insane speed and the shock factor his ridiculous jumps provided. Yet the feeling of landing a solid spike after hours of misses was one that made it all worth it.

Annoying teacher guy had only been around a month before he had to go, but had managed to teach Hinata the basic techniques and rules before he left. Even though he failed a lot of the time, Hinata was still in love with volleyball.

* * *

 **Humans, and being one**

Hinata grumbled as he reached under his wristband to adjust the device laying flush against his skin. He had only started being a human recently, and still wasn't completely used to it. The device served a very important purpose. It increased his bones density, so they didn't snap.

You see, his species of magical ravens were created based off how humans thought about birds. The usual human thought of birds extremely lightweight creatures who are good at flying and have hollow, delicate bones that are very fragile. Thus, Ravens had the physiology of a bird in human form.

Actually though, birds have extremely dense bones despite how thin they are, which meant they are very strong and heavy. However due to being formed from human beliefs on the matter, they didn't end up like that. Instead, they have extremely breakable bones, that are made worse in human form for some reason, probably due to the incompatibility with a human form. Usually, this was fine because he went around in his hybrid form, so while the bones were delicate they were strong enough that only a strong hit would break them.

However, he couldn't do that here, as a supposed-to-be-totally-human. Which meant his bones could be broken if someone were to casually grab a hold of his arm and squeeze. Thus, the device. It used magic to change his physiology closer to that of a human's, removing the extreme fragility of the bones to a more normal standard, and adjusting overall musculature to a more normal human one. He still had thin bones, a tiny frame, and lean body structure, but the bonuses he got from being a magical bird were removed. He was actually kind of glad for that, since it would be unfair unless he was on the level of humans.

The device was still kind of itchy, though.

* * *

 **Friends?**

"So, uh…" Hinata muttered awkwardly, trying to think of something to say. Haha-ue wanted to hear about some friends, and this kid whose cat he rescued, and the other one whom he had helped out a few days ago seemed like a good place to start. If he could just figure out what to say, it would be even better.

"Er, ah, wanna play some volleyball?"

The two shared looks, then met those warm, hopeful eyes. Hinata was really nice, but he seemed kind of lonely too, and they liked him, so why not?

""Sure, sounds fun!""

Turns out, volleyball is even more fun when you play it with someone else, even if they don't love it as much as you do.

Thus, Hinata Shouyou, Koji Sekimukai, and Yukitaka Izumi became friends, without a question mark on the end.

* * *

 **Omake: first meetings of the crown prince and sunshine boy**

"Hey, orange!" A pretty-boy with long golden hair called out to another pretty-boy, with orange hair. "Why'd you help me out back there? You aren't getting anything from it except more teasing."

"Eh, I was kind of bored, and you looked rea~lly uncomfortable, so I figured i might as well help."

A summary of the situation that sparked this conversation is as follows: the golden-haired princeling was being harassed because of his hair color, mostly the girls saying it was pretty and attempting to act on this, and the boys making fun of it. He was close to panicking when a loud noise signalled the local clutz, Hinata Shouyou, knocking something over on top of himself. When he looked over to see the boy, all he caught was a short wink before the smaller was completely surrounded by those who were previously bothering him.

"Besides, you're a pretty cool person. Really smart, really strong, and even good-looking, it's no wonder people are swarming you. You even have a good personality!" Hinata's eyes were closed, so he didn't see the other boy blushing. Even though lots of people complimented him, there was always a layer of deception that Otsuki could sense. Usually they hoped to get close and use him. Hinata though, was completely genuine, and when you lived in a world of lies, someone who simply said the truth was a rare prize.

"Hey orange! From now on, you belong to me!"

Well, just because he's gone through difficulties, doesn't mean the little princeling isn't a brat.

Finally, an orange eye peeled open. "Ba~ka, you can't have another person belong to you. Even if you're pretty cool, you're also a brat, huh."

"Hey!"

As they began to argue back and forth, two very different thoughts occupied their minds.

' _He's a pretty funny guy. And annoying. Mostly funny though.'_

' _I think I'm in love. Now, if he would just quit annoying me it would be great!'_

Well, maybe not quite so different after all.

* * *

 **A/N: What am I doing. I'm not sure. Hinata is totally going to have a harem, by the way, because he's worth it. Anyone who says otherwise, well, you probably shouldn't read this.**

 **It's mostly just gonna be drabbles. Next chapter we'll have the debut of Karasuno, and Hinata will have a lot less scenes focused on his thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Crows: First Impressions**

The first time Kageyama met Hinata, they were on opposite sides of the court. At first, all he could see was a weak team with a shrimpy captain who liked to talk big. Basically, he found him really annoying. Yet somehow, over the course of the game, he gained a small bit of respect for the 162cm boy. Even if he did talk big, and had an irritating personality, on the court he truly shone. No matter how terribly they were losing, he didn't give up for even a second. Wanting to stay on the court as long as you possibly could, at the very least, that was something Kageyama could acknowledge.

He was the one losing, by a large margin at that, but the intensity in his eyes made Kageyama feel like a butterfly pinned to a corkboard. And when he attacked, when he jumped, he _flew_. That moment of shock upon seeing that had frozen him in his tracks, along with everyone else. Even if he was an annoying shrimp, Kageyama couldn't help but respect him. Plus, that spike had gotten past him, which was pretty impressive. So when the shrimp said he'd beat him someday, Kageyama just smirked.

Of course, since fate was such a bitch, they ended up on the same team. Just because they were forced together, though, didn't mean he was just going to get along with him.

The first time Daichi met Hinata, the freshman was being yelled at by Kageyama. All the while, he just kept smiling and laughing, seeming more amused as he argued back than genuinely angry. Kageyama didn't seem to be on the same wavelength though, since he seemed honestly irritated. So Daichi threw them both out and said that if they wanted to be on the team, they better learn to get along. Even if Hinata had that part down, Kageyama had to learn as well if things were going to work. They had better figure things out soon so the team could _play some volleyball already!_

Sugawara's first impression of Hinata was a combination of exasperation and confusion. He and Kageyama were arguing, and even if Hinata seemed to think it was pretty fun, Kageyama clearly didn't agree. Hinata didn't have any problems with accepting and getting along with all the over-the-top personalities of the team members, but his easy-going excitability (and wasn't that an oxymoron) just irritated Kageyama. The confusing part was when Suga spoke up. The second he heard Suga's voice, Hinata's smile dropped off his face, and now that he looked, Suga realized that those eyes he thought were brown, were actually a luminescent orange, giving an eerie feel to them. The sheer intensity of that stare focusing on him made him shudder.

("Sugawara?"

"Yes?"

"Good! Glad I got the right place!")

After that confusing exchange, Hinata quickly returned to normal, and though Kageyama looked confused for a moment he soon went back to his previous snarliness. Suga decided that if it was important, he'd find out someday, and for now, why not help them out. They seemed as though they would make good members, once their issues were worked out.

Tanaka's first impression of Hinata was that he was a pretty funny guy. A really energetic shrimp with bright hair and a brighter personality. He was really easy to get along with as well, though the fact that he held no interest in the sweet, beautiful manager~ was incomprehensible, it was nice to not have to defend her from more wild beasts. He figured that he might as well help him out, and he didn't regret it. That freak quick of theirs was pretty impressive, too. This would definitely come in handy when they were fighting against those overpowered bastards…

Nishinoya's first impression of Hinata, was that of someone meeting a comrade in arms. They were pretty much the same size, and they quickly bonded over the shared suffering of having almost no height. He especially appreciated Hinata's understanding of what a libero was. The libero was the one who didn't let the ball touch the floor, not the shortest person on the team, and it was rare to find someone who got that. So Hinata was definitely great, and pretty fun to hang around as well!

Tsukishima's first impression of Hinata was an annoying shrimp who was exhaustingly hot-blooded and irritated him to no end. Someone who he definitely couldn't get along with, nor did he even want to. Though, he at least acknowledged the other's capabilities in volleyball, even if his receives could make anyone cringe. That freak quick was useful, after all.

Yamaguchi mostly just followed after Tsukishima, so he made fun of Hinata, but he also acknowledged the other for his hard work. He thought that the determination to not give up even with the obstacles standing in one's way was something he could respect, even though Hinata was shrimpy and exhaustingly energetic. Watching his interactions with the others was good entertainment, anyways.

Mostly, Ennoshita and co thought Hinata was both amusing and someone you had to keep a handle on. Overwhelmingly energetic, yet also weirdly relaxed in how he accepted things with ease. Though, they did notice he had a weird tendency of making sure Suga-san was happy, since they spent a lot of their time observing the rest of the team. It definitely wasn't a crush, so they ended up just asking him. Turns out Hinata felt he owed Suga-san for helping him a few years ago, and since they were on the same team figured he could at least help him out.

(Well, that was part of it at least. Hinata may have left out a few things.)

Asahi's first impression of Hinata was that he was intimidatingly excitable, but also a very nice person. Hinata had encouraged him to return to volleyball, and when he was backing Asahi up, the ace couldn't help but feel more confident in himself. Even though Hinata got into a lot of trouble and could be really overwhelming, he was a good guy.

* * *

 **Annoying Thuggish Guys**

"Hey, cutie." Hinata cringed slightly at the way those words sounded slimy coming from this weirdo. He wasn't sure why he was being bothered like this, but these guys were weirdly persistent. When a large hand trailed down his spine to squeeze his butt, he actually cringed. Sure, sexual harassment-sama used to do this sort of thing every now and then, but it was friends teasing each other. He was pretty sure that one didn't get to this stage when you had just met.

Honestly, why did so many people insist on making fun of him, even complete strangers did!

Irritably, his eyes began to glow brighter, and unseen to the men, his hair grew a couple inches before he forced his magic under control, making it return to its previous length. He had stayed in this form too long without getting a little release, if his magic was attempting to push him into his hybrid form without his consent like this.

"Hey, we aren't really friends, so I don't think we know each other well enough for something like that." Bringing a hand down, he grabbed the irritant's wrist in a claw-like vice grip. His control had slipped enough that his strength was a little higher than usual, and considering how absurdly athletic he was it was already quite high, so the man flinched in pain, jerking away.

"Bastard!" Now much angrier, he made to grab the orange-haired boy, his fellow goons reacting in response to one of their fellow's anger and becoming violent as well. Naturally, Hinata didn't see a good reason to allow this, and so he jumped. Taking advantage of their shock at his absurd height and airtime, his left foot landed on goon #1's shoulder for barely a second before he pushed off again, springboarding up to a nearby low-hanging roof. Glancing behind himself, he cackled slightly at their shocked and angered expressions, though when he noticed them beginning to pursue him, he moved faster, leaping across the roof-tops with a fluid grace that wouldn't look off on a cat, rather than a raven such as himself.

After a few minutes of this, he stumbled and slowed a bit at the pulse his magic gave off, and this time it wasn't just his hair, he actually felt his wings attempt to emerge before he regained control. He was going to have to both focus on running away, and on keeping control of his form, which was an exhausting endeavor when you were still and focused.

Suddenly, things got a whole lot harder.

* * *

 **Odd Sleeping Places**

"Hinata! Hey, where are you!" Suga called, beginning to feel slightly worried at not having found him yet. He hadn't shown up to morning practice, so after school ended with still no sign of him, he went looking for him. The others had figured they might as well help, and so were looking around as well. Though several of them wouldn't admit it, they felt a bit worried about the orange-haired ball of sunshine in human form. After all, there was something about him you couldn't help but get attached to. Asahi was panicking, Nishinoya and Tanaka were freaking out and creating a variety of unrealistic scenarios that really didn't help his nerves, and Kageyama and Tsukishima were busy being Tsunderes.

Finally, they all met up underneath a particularly large tree, and were about to see if anyone knew where they could find Hinata outside of the school, when a leaf fell on Asahi's nose, making him look up in surprise. His expression made an abrupt transition from confused to freaking out, and everyone else looked up in response to this.

Only to see Hinata draped across a tree branch, one arm hanging down, and fast asleep. Several people choked on their own saliva at this, and Asahi made a loud, distressed keening sound. Somehow, Hinata seemed to hear this, waking with a jerk and frantically looking around to find the source of his friend's distress. Naturally, he lost his balance, and fell off the edge of the tree branch. The more worry-inclined members of the club nearly had a heart attack, but luckily before Asahi fainted, Hinata smoothly twisted in mid-air, grabbing onto a tree branch and swinging himself around to land in a crouch on another.

The general consensus from the team who was still in shock was, ' _why can't he be that graceful when we're playing volleyball'_ , though they felt nothing but relief at him being okay. Well, at least until the irritation set in.

"You, dumbass!" This was, of course, Kageyama. "Why the hell are you sleeping in a tree!?"

Hinata looked down, and spotting Asahi who didn't seem any worse for wear aside from the way he appeared to be almost crying, relaxed, hopping down to the next branch underneath him, and continuing this process until he reached the last one a couple feet off the ground, jumping off and landing with no visible effort. This close, the previous worry returned, because he looked _exhausted_. His skin, usually a light golden color, now looked paler and almost sallow. Deep purple circles lined the underside of his eyes, and even as he seemed fairly energetic, there was a clear exhaustion there that they had never seen before.

"But, I always sleep in trees…" He trailed off at their looks, seeming confused. Without warning, he turned to Asahi. "Why did you sound so upset earlier, Asahi-senpai? I was so worried I woke up!"

Daichi finally spoke. "He was panicking because we couldn't find you and were worried, and when we did, you turned out to be up in a tree! So then, what do you have to say for yourself?" The dark atmosphere surrounding him was enough to make even Hinata look slightly impressed, which made Daichi feel unreasonably proud, considering how ridiculously hard it was for Hinata to even notice intimidation tactics.

"Ah, I had a long night. These weirdos were bothering me, and so when I was chased near this school around 5, I managed to run in and lose them by climbing this tree. I decided to sleep here, because it's a pretty good tree, I guess I didn't wake up in time for school. Don't worry, next time I'll just stay awake until school starts!" He sounded inordinately pleased with himself for having come up with this idea, completely missing everyone's terrifying expressions. Nishinoya and Tanaka now resembled Deva statues.

"What was that about weirdoes bothering you?" Kageyama snarled irritably.

"Yeah, I was walking back home for dinner, and these annoying guys surrounded me. They were starting to act like sexual harassment-sama, but we weren't friends so I wasn't going to go along with it. I springboarded off one of the taller ones shoulder, and jumped on the roof to run away. There were a lot of them though, so each time I got away from one I ran into another. It was pretty irritating, like when those kids would try to beat me up except taller." He grouched, saying a lot of serious things like he was talking about the weather. Really, it showed just how tired he was, because usually even when he was dealing with that sort of situation he still sounded energetic.

"Hey, can you remember what they looked like?" Tsukishima asked casually, sounding like he didn't particularly care. In his pocket though, he had a recorder so he could properly remember all the details. It certainly wouldn't be related to him if the details "coincidentally" made their way to the police.

"Why?" Hinata tilted his head questioningly, the sheer adorability, forcing them to look away.

"Curiosity, and I want to make sure to avoid them," was his smooth reply. Hinata nodded, satisfied with this reasoning, and began listing off everything he could remember of them. It was actually pretty impressive, the sheer amount of information he had retained.

There were 16 guys, and he was able to list off the facial features, clothes, hairstyle, body type, and how each ones voice sounded, for a few he could even give their names, due to having heard the men calling to each other. Actually, it was really impressive, that he had managed to notice and remember all of these things despite the situation he had been in.

"Hey, why don't you have that kind of memorization when it comes to schoolwork?" Yamaguchi muttered, but Hinata heard him, and gave an irritated huff.

"I could, but it's really boring, and not related to volleyball." He said this as though he thought it was perfectly reasonable, oblivious to the dead fish eyes he was receiving. Sugawara, bless him, spoke up then.

"You do realize that if your grades aren't up to par, you won't be allowed to play, right?"

Now Hinata was the one sporting dead fish eyes.

"What."

"Hey," Kageyama interrupted, having been silent ever since Hinata's explanation as to what happened. Who's that 'sexual harassment-sama' you mentioned?"

"Yeah!" Nishinoya added, "what kind of name is that, anyways?"

"Eh, it's not his real name. I just started calling him that after this one incident a while ago. We're childhood friends, but I haven't seen him in a while. He's a really respected person from where I come from, but he's actually a brat who keeps saying I belong to him."

"What." The entire team's voice said as one.

"Like I said. A real brat. He really hasn't changed since we were kids."

"Well, whatever," Daichi finally said, the topic of conversation beginning to irritate him, "just don't worry us like that again."

"Alright!" Hinata said cheerfully, "I'll make sure I don't sleep in any trees where you might see me."

Eyebrow beginning to twitch, the captain felt a headache coming on. "That's really not what I meant."

* * *

 **Before de-aging**

"Why me?" Otsuki muttered to himself angrily, staring at the sleeping form of his childhood friend. Seriously, why did Hinata have to be so overpoweringly sexy? When he hit second maturity at sixteen, he had only become so overpoweringly attractive that it couldn't be ignored anymore. He hadn't enjoyed dealing with it at the time, thinking it was bad enough, but now he wished he had been more grateful. Because when Hinata reached his third, and final, maturity at 21, his features had taken a turn for the stunningly seductive. Now everyone around their age had taken notice, and were attempting to move on him, to which Hinata was completely oblivious. So it was up to Otsuki to defend his chastity.

Their species underwent three separate maturities. The first took place at eleven, and their magic would abruptly strengthen during it, though their appearance wouldn't change much, their abilities when it came to absorbing and utilizing information increased drastically. Second maturity, at sixteen, improved control over their magic, along with sharpening their features and making them considerably maturer, and in Hinata's case, attractive. Third maturity, at 21, increased their cognitive abilities, augmented their physical ones, and completely matured their features into those of an adult. Their magic would increase drastically as well, and this final maturity was especially important in that ones magic drastically increased bone density, getting rid of the previous crippling fragility.

In-between these sudden transitions, their appearance would change very little. Their height was generally almost done increasing when they hit second maturity, though sometimes they could gain another centimeter or two. Hinata had only recently come to terms with knowing he would never grow taller than his current 164cm.

Anyways, before he hit sixteen, Hinata's magic had actually concealed his appearance. Before sixteen, where you gained control, magic was mostly instinctive, borderline sentient, reacting in order to protect its wielder. Hinata, due to his mother's words, had thought his appearance would cause others to hate him, and so his magic reacted to this fear without him knowing and made it nearly impossible to focus on his appearance enough to look at him properly. You were aware of him, but you simply didn't think on his appearance. As he grew closer to his second maturity, this began to weaken enough that extremely observant people might notice him, and once he reached it his magic no longer acted on its own, completely under his control and considering him old enough to defend himself, thusly letting people look at him properly for the first time.

Otsuki dealt with many problems during that time. People eventually got the hint, though.

Anyways, when he was de-aged, Hinata's magic would revert as well, so he would be protected until he was sixteen at least. However, when he reached that age, Otsuki wouldn't be able to protect him from lecherous eyes this time. He stared at Hinata's face, eyes trailing over delicate features, a few orange strands of hair delicately resting across his face, and full lips that he knew from experience tasted delicious. Gradually, his face began to turn red, and he started having trouble staying still. Without thinking, he leant closer, but just as he was about to kiss the other, Hinata rolled away. This snapped him out of it, and he quickly left (aka fled) before he repeated the action that earned him this nickname.

Ultimately, Hinata would probably be fine. No one stood much of a chance against him considering his absurd strength, though he hated people getting hurt so Hinata probably wouldn't use it unless someone else was at risk, but that was making him worry more, things aren't going to be okay, are they? Well, he usually brought out the protective instincts in just about everything, so hopefully he'd be alright.

* * *

 **Pudding Cats that are Unusually Observant**

"Hey, hey~! What're you playing?" Kenma Kozume looked up to see the sun personified jumping around him, occasionally looking excitedly at the game he was currently working on. The introvert began to feel exhausted just watching him, and thus he spoke.

"Eh~, it's a new RPG that recently came out." He then went back to his game, attempting to clearly display disinterest in the other.

"Oh, cool! I was jogging and got lost, but then saw you, so I came over!" Sunshine seemed to think this was a good enough reason to approach a random person on the street.

' _Stranger danger…'_ Kenma thought dryly, while saying that "I'm lost as well, so I sat down and started playing this game," before continuing to not respond. He wasn't good with people, and they tired him out, but they always got fed up when he didn't give a proper response. This guy should be the same, no matter how cheerful his personality was.

However, the orange-haired boy instead continued the one-sided conversation despite the lackluster response, and gradually, Kenma actually began to enjoy the other's presence. As if sensing the change (animals were very sensitive, did you know?) Hinata seemed even more excited, eventually giving out his name and getting a "Kozume Kenma" in return.

After a while of this, Kenma looked up when Hinata abruptly went silent, finally getting a good look at the other, and almost blushing when he did. He had spent a lot of time around Kuroo, who was a naturally attractive person, but this guy was on a whole other level. When he had looked up earlier he was so focused on his bright personality that he somehow didn't notice, but now that Hinata was still, even someone as apathetic as himself couldn't help but notice just how inhumanly good-looking he was. Seriously, he had seen photoshopped models that looked average in comparison. This was ridiculous.

Currently, orange eyes were locked onto his volleyball uniform, though he knew from that angle Hinata couldn't see which team he was on. After a few moments of staring, during which Kenma noticed the "Karasuno" on his shirt, a slow, predatory ("Sexy", his hormones whispered. "Shut up, that's out of character" he replied) grin grew on his face. He had really nice lips. And skin. And teeth. His bone structure was also rather attractive, and the bright hair and abnormal eye color matched him well-

No. Stop it. Bad thoughts.

For once, even if it came in handy as the setter of Nekoma, he wished he weren't quite so observant. Because this was very distracting.

"Hey, is your team strong?" Hinata's voice was much calmer, and there was a far greater intensity to it. It was like facing off with a bird of prey.

"It was, then it went downhill for a while. I think it's pretty good right now, though." His voice and blank expression gave none of his internal feelings away.

"Eh~, that's pretty cool. Do you like playing volleyball, Kenma?"

"It's really exhausting, but my friends play it."

"Oooh~, So you really like it then!" Somehow, Hinata was getting weird messages from his words.

"That's not what I said."

"But it is what you feel." Kenma's golden eyes widened the slightest bit in shock, but of course Hinata caught it. Ravens had sharp eyes.

"Eh, don't worry about it though~, cause you're really pretty cool, Kenma!" He seriously couldn't see how that related to the previous topic, but Kenma went along with it anyway. He blinked in shock, however, when an arm came down across his shoulders. Tilting his head to see, he gave a small huff at seeing it was Kuroo. Hinata relaxed at seeing this (and when had he tensed?), going back to bouncing around energetically.

"Oya oya? Kenma, who's this chibi-chan?" Bedhead, as dubbed in Hinata's mind, asked.

"Kuroo. This is Hinata." Was Kenma's bland reply.

"Nice to meet you, bedhead!" Was Hinata's cheery reply, before he turned back to Kenma. "Since he found you, looks like you aren't lost anymore! I'm gonna go find my way back home, so see ya around!" Turning, the energetic teen began to run away, though he abruptly turned back, shocking the two. "I've got this weird feeling we'll see each other again soon, though I'm not sure why. My instincts are pretty good though, so I guess we'll meet again, Kenma, Bedhead!" This time, he really did leave, and the two looked slightly impressed at his speed.

"Oya, that was an experience." Kuroo smirked in amusement, before he seemed to remember something.

"Hey, was he calling me bedhead?"

"It seems he understands you well."

"Ooh, that hurts, Kenma!"

The pudding haired boys lips twitched slightly, and he gave a lazy blink. "You know, I'm somewhat looking forward to our next game against Karasuno."

"Oh? That's new. Then, it seems I'm getting excited too."

Neither paid any attention when a raven flew overhead in the direction their rival school was in, already heading back together.

* * *

 **Omake: Several years in the future, group meeting**

A large gathering of college students, who were all volleyball lovers, though they also were involved in other subjects, were sitting together with a serious atmosphere surrounding them. Also involved as he was, Otsuki the golden-haired pretty-boy raven prince was also present, though no one noticed his looks considering how much time they spent around Hinata.

Even though quite a few of them went to different colleges that were far away from each other, most of the teams had somehow ended up going to the same places as their teammates. Quite a few of them had ended up together as well, such as Bokuto and Akaashi, Lev and Yaku, Oikawa and Iwaizumi, and several other people. They were meeting like this for the same reason though.

Bokuto was the one who spoke, standing dramatically as he did so. "Obviously, none of us are getting anywhere as things are! Sabotaging each other's attempts like we have been clearly is setting us back as well, which essentially means one thing!" He paused for effect. It was somewhat ruined with his next, tearful sentence though. "I don't care who he's with, or how many, just as long as I'm one of them! He's so oblivious that without all of us attempting to convince him, he probably won't ever notice a thing! Rather than setting each other back along with everyone else and ourselves, we should push forward together!"

The rest of the group nodded in agreement. A few years ago they wouldn't have agreed to this. However, things were becoming desperate. They had been attempting to get _him_ to notice their affections for years, Otsuki even longer than the rest, and it was beginning to wear on them. Now with a full understanding of his density, they knew this was their only option. Sure, some of them had gotten with each other, and they were happy and loved one another wholeheartedly. But considering both partners wanted him, things were only magnified by each other. Having experienced it, their dreams abruptly got a lot more explicit, and often included threesomes.

To be blunt, so long as they got him, it was fine if the others did too. They couldn't handle it much longer.

"Then," Akaashi spoke up, voice cool as ever, "we are in agreement. Rather than get in each other's way, we will provide support. All for the sake of getting Hinata to notice us."

There was a loud chorus of agreements.

"Man, Iwa-chan," Oikawa muttered to his partner, "who would have thought things would escalate to this point, ne?"

"It couldn't be helped. We stood no chance." Iwaizumi gracefully admitted defeat.

"True, Chibi-chan really isn't someone you can resist so easily, ha~."

* * *

 **A/N: characters are introduced, and you see what will occur a few years into the future. We also have a nice flashback/explanation kinda section.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Fangs**

It was a little while after the match with Aoba Johsai, in which Karasuno had come out victorious, and despite having just battled it out on the court the teams oddly ended up meeting and chatting. Well, it depended on who you looked at, whether or not they were _chatting_. Some were leaning towards the "subtly (or not) hostile" approach. Cough Kageyama and Oikawa cough. Somehow though, the teams respective captains were now talking.

"You know," the number one lady-killer of Aoba Johsai began, sounding simultaneously annoyed and intrigued, "one of the things I find most impressive about you guys, is how you tamed such a wild beast to the point that he would follow you so easily." Oikawa leaned almost casually against a tree, watching the crows expressions become confused at his word with gleeful amusement.

Well. Anyone who knew him properly could tell you he had a bad personality. Seriously, childish and gets his kicks out of seeing people in disarray. Iwaizumi would loudly attest to this.

Surprisingly, Yamaguchi spoke up. He had been gaining surety and confidence as his skills increased, and despite the nervous warble in his voice, simply speaking at all spoke of his progress. "W-w-w-what?"

Progress comes in small steps. These things take time you know.

Kyotani was the one to respond, sharp gaze making Yamaguchi "eep" nervously. The highly instinctual "Mad Dog-chan" had of course been one of the first to notice, even seeing it off the court. "That bird."

Just because he noticed and understood didn't mean he had any desire to explain. Oikawa seemed to enjoy drawing things out, blatantly grinning at Kageyama's increasingly frustrated expression when he didn't get any proper answers. He started up again, wanting to explain things as dramatically as possible. Their team may have lost this time, but hey, small victories.

"Your little bird. That ferocity is pretty scary you know, having a look like that focused on you almost makes you shiver. It's pretty amazing how obediently he follows along with whatever you tell him to do~." Despite the annoying way he said it, they understood who he meant now. Hinata was the only one who fit that description, they had all been on the receiving end of that look to recognize it being talked about, after all. Though, the sheer difference in intensity when compared to their opponents was clearly noted.

"Eh~, you guys are really sharp. This is why I like athletes." An arm came into view, and they followed it up to the person it was attached to, reclining on the tree branch directly above them. "Your instincts are always so much more impressive than the rest of your species."

Karasuno was shocked, but they were at least slightly used to it, and Aoba Johsai handled the surprise fairly well. A clearly recognizable voice, huskier than usual with sleep, could be heard, and they met hazy orange eyes that were drooping at half-mast. It was enough to make anyone blush, and hormonal high schoolers were no exception. Though Sugawara had the urge to properly "talk to" everyone he saw looking in that manner.

Oikawa grinned his best "I'm super attractive and I know it" smile, though Hinata didn't notice, much to his disappointment. "Whatever do you mean by that?"

"I guess, what I want to say is, isn't something like that pretty obvious?" The tilt of his head said that Hinata didn't understand why they _didn't_ get it.

"Well~, why not properly explain it then," Oikawa suggested slyly, eyes glinting in interest. Chibi-chan was never boring, after all.

"Er, let's see, I guess the simplest way to put it is like this." Sleep hazed eyes sharpened, and they stiffened under that look. "No matter how dangerous a wild beast might be, a mouse would be more useful if it doesn't properly bite at its master's command. A beast that can't even do that isn't worth much." His casual, considering tone provided a distinct contrast to his almost vicious words. People tended to forget it, because he was a genuinely bright, friendly, and considerate person, but the animalistic intensity he showed on the court didn't come from nowhere.

Oikawa laughed in amusement. "You really are never boring, Chibi-chan. It's always so fun to play with you, so feel free to come over anytime, hm~," The almost suggestive tone of his words made several people choke on their saliva, though the general consensus among Karasuno was to keep calm enough that they weren't charged with murder. This was a public place, it would be better to do things where no one could see.

Hinata laughed cheerfully in response, his happiness enough to soothe Karasuno's ire, and the hand that was hanging over the side of his branch swung from side to side. "You're pretty interesting too, Daiou-sama. I don't mind playing with you." And Karasuno was back to silent fury. Their thoughts were along the lines of how Oikawa was using Hinata's naivete to slip in double meanings to his words. This was why they had to protect their personified sunshine.

Hinata rolled of the branch, and before anyone could freak out (too badly) he twisted gracefully in midair, smoothly landing on the balls of his feet before he planted his heels as well. By sound alone, you wouldn't have thought he moved at all. "Are you guys ready to go home, I'm sleepy~," he whined, though the smile that slipped through on his pouting lips gave him away.

 _That expression should be made illegal as a tactical weapon._

"Yeah, we're ready. I guess you still aren't going to be riding on the bus, so you've got a way home, right." Their captain's stern voice conveyed this wasn't a question, but a statement, so if he answered negatively they were going to have a problem. Hinata grinned, but the look in his eyes was one of respect. Daichi hadn't realized until a while ago, that Hinata acknowledged and would follow his every word as captain, but it was only recently that Hinata came to truly _respect_ him as the one who lead their flock.

The comparison was odd, but felt right somehow.

"I've got it handled, don't worry!" With that, Hinata turned and ran off. They had been worried the first few times, but they now trusted him to know that he would arrive back safely, and call if he couldn't. That's how he did things, because he didn't want to worry Sugawara.

That weird fixation on not causing trouble for Suga was kinda odd, but it was another thing they had gotten used to, and it did come in handy.

As he watched them leave, Oikawa hummed to himself, then turned and walked towards their own bus without another glance. He didn't feel like being angsty after all~. "You know, I think I kind of missed the mark there. They didn't really tame a wild beast, they just earned its loyalty. Maybe that's even more impressive though, ne?"

Iwaizumi snorted, rolling his eyes and smacking his setter upside the head in a casual manner. "Trashykawa, stop trying to seem cool by monologuing out loud. You'll end up as a crappy side villain like that."

"Eh, so harsh! You're always saying such mean things, Iwa-chan, of course I'd be the main villain orchestrating things behind the scenes while posing as a mini-boss!"

"Creepykawa."

"Somehow, I feel like things got even worse for me. So painful~."

This comedy routine continued, with occasional input from the rest of the team who had faded into the background slightly. Well, they were recovering from the shock of first-hand, full on Hinata with no sunscreen to block out the harmful aftereffects.

(Even with the pain that came from loss, they just had to win next time.)

* * *

 **Perch**

"Lev!" Hinata cheerily bounced up to the far taller russian, and was greeted in just as excitable a manner.

"Shou-chan!"

"I feel like their friendship progressed too fast," Sugawara grumbled, watching this play out. The two chattered incomprehensibly for a while, before Hinata became serious, and asked a perfectly normal question.

"Hey, Lev, how tall are you anyways? I know you're lots bigger than me, but that's it."

Lev grinned, seeming just as energetic as his fellow middle blocker. "I'm 194 centimeters! So a lot taller than you!" Several people cringed, waiting for the general response they expected from anyone fairly short having their height mentioned. It didn't happen.

"That's true! You're really tall, huh!" The excited conversation continued between the excitable duo, and hardly anyone could, or wanted to, keep up with it. The energy they gave off was utterly exhausting, though Hinata was worse since at least they knew Lev had limits. Hinata just seemed to keep going, even when the tall Russian, and everyone else, would make like jello and collapse without support.

Which is why it was such a shock when Hinata circled around to the Russian's back, and leapt high enough in the air to barely tuck up his feet and crouch on Lev's shoulder. He looked like a rather odd, and large, bird like that, knees and body tucked in as he balanced on Lev's shoulder, one hand helping steady himself by resting on top of Lev's head.

Of course, Lev was suitably impressed, praising Hinata for his jumping ability and not seeming to find anything odd with the current situation. Hinata's words were just confusing. "It's been a while since I did this," what, use someone as a perch?

Yes, actually, but they didn't know that.

From then on, whenever he had the chance, Hinata tended to hop onto Lev's shoulder and ride around wherever the Russian went. The two got along like a house on fire, and neither seemed bothered, so eventually Nekoma and Karasuno got used to it. It was rather shocking for other school's, however. No one seemed to notice how Hinata's weight didn't effect Lev, then when they thought to consider it, most already knew why, and Hinata just used weird sound effects to explain things if asked.

Though, it was rather jealousy-inducing, looking at how Lev got to frequently be in close proximity to Hinata. The green-eyed boy knew it too, judging by the uncharacteristically smug look he got whenever someone took note of this fact where he could hear.

Not like it was odd. Birds perched on shoulders all the time, after all.

* * *

 **A matter of transportation**

The entire Karasuno Men's Volleyball team was excited. Even the more laid back or apathetic members couldn't help being a bit affected by the atmosphere. After all, this was the first time they were heading out as a complete team, with Nishinoya and Asahi now accompanying them. Hinata was just as excited, jumping higher than usual and running around with Nishinoya and Tanaka. Previous trips, he had disappeared before they got near the bus, and somehow met them at their destination. It was a little worrying, but since there were no problems Daichi and Sugawara didn't really look into it.

Too bad they didn't notice the wide berth Hinata gave the bus, or the nervous air he developed whenever he got too close to it. It would have saved them a whole lot of guilt.

Anyways, soon enough it was time to go, and Hinata was still running around and making excited "gwaaah!" sounds with the enthusiastic second years. He had let his guard down in his excitement, and so he didn't truly think about what was happening when Tanaka and Nishinoya grabbed his arms in a friendly hold and skipped towards the bus. By the time he realized how close he was to the metal monstrosity, and getting closer, it was too late. He froze up, nobody noticing how he abruptly went silent, for several long moments.

Enough time to be pulled onto the bus.

When his situation finally registered, he frantically thrashed, though subconsciously he held back his strength to the point that he wouldn't hurt his seniors. He was unnecessarily softhearted, after all. Not being able to properly see his face, everyone chuckled, thinking that he was just really excited.

Hinata, meanwhile, was terrified. His eyes darted back and forth, and his limbs thrashed in the grip that was meant to be a casual hold between friends, but was feeling more and more like locked manacles holding him down. His breathing began to increase, coming in short, panicked breaths, and his vision grew hazy. Finally, the others noticed there was something wrong, and the second years swore and started to panic, calling his name desperately. Hinata couldn't hear them though, it was like he was underwater, everything seemed distant and indistinguishable. Fear welled up in his throat, and it got harder to breathe, his stomach rolled in nausea, and for a moment his entire body froze, eyes wide and unseeing, before it shut down. Everyone became frantic as he went completely limp, though Nishinoya managed to barely hear a few whispered words before he went under.

"Get me out of this, I don't want to be here."

The terrified, desperate tone it was said with, like he could barely pull in enough air to get the words out, had him moving fast, pulling Hinata into a bridal carry to make things easier on him, rushing out of the bus while making sure not to jostle his kouhai, and setting Hinata down on the grass. The adults and managers ran over, carefully examining him for the cause. They quickly confirmed it had been a panic attack, and he should wake up fairly soon.

All Hinata could think of was the horrifying crunch of bones being ground into tiny pieces upon impact. The massive metal contraption that didn't even slow down as the pigeon splattered against its front slid off with a sickening squish, and was left behind on the road to be further crushed underneath rubber tires. He remembered not being able to move for hours, until the bird was nothing left but an oddly colored splatter on the road. Not worth a second glance.

It wasn't like he knew the bird. His kind, with their human intelligence, rarely grew close to birds, considering that while they could communicate with them, the birds still weren't very bright. Only ravens were the exception, and that was because they were highly intelligent animals, on the level of dolphins and primates. This meant his own kind, which were based off the ravens, had their intelligence scaled up in response, so being exceedingly smart was normal. It was just bringing the high raven standard among animals, up to the human's scale.

He had been in shock at the brutal sight, to the point that his thoughts had wandered to such things as these even as his eyes couldn't turn from the corpse that was ground further into the asphalt with every tire that rolled over it. It wasn't personal, no, but it was traumatizing to his young mind. Seeing a creature that had such a similar physiology to himself so brutally killed, made him understand something.

To humans, the death of another animal wasn't worth a second glance. Especially not in those metal machines. Humans killed each other with those things on a frequent basis, and even if it was accidental, it just drove home the point. They would cry over a fellow human, but animals were only a bump in the road. His childish mentality at the time took this to mean that, if he was too close to a vehicle, he would be crushed just like that pigeon without even a second glance, even in his human form. He was a raven after all, and the shape he took didn't change that. Finding out how much more fragile his bones were than an average human's just increased his irrational, and already severe, phobia. He could handle being close to cars, but not touching them, however large vehicles like trucks or buses terrified him to the point that he couldn't even get close.

Gradually, he woke back up. The world slowly came back into focus, starting with his hearing. He caught a murmur of voices, and the distinct tone of worry made him feel guilty. He was always causing _someone_ problems, it had just been a matter of time. Hopefully they wouldn't reject him. Hinata had gotten extremely attached in a short amount of time, and would be heartbroken. Opening his eyes, he noted their body language and expressions, seeing the worry, fear, and concern clearly displayed. He could scent those same emotions in the air, making him feel worse at how much trouble he caused for them all.

Slowly, he sat up, and everyone was more than eager to help him. After having some water from Takeda-sensei, he bluntly spoke up. Even in his current state, he wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"Why do you guys feels guilty for something?" Somehow, his confusion just made them feel worse. Tanaka spoke in a subdued tone of voice, far from his usual exuberance.

"We didn't even notice that you were scared, until you were too deep in a panic attack to even try and help. It was our fault that this happened…" Nishinoya bobbed his head in agreement, and everyone else seemed to feel the same. Even Tsukishima and Kageyama felt concern for him. The two second years who had held onto his arms were by far the worst off, though.

"That's kind of dumb." Hinata was giving them dead fish eyes, obviously not understanding what they were so upset about. "It's not like I told you I've got a phobia of cars and stuff. Mostly buses. And trucks. Whatever, the point is I never said anything, so you didn't know. Which means it's not your fault." His logic was simple, but sensible, and while they were glad to have his forgiveness (he didn't see anything to forgive) they still felt guilty. Takeda-sensei was frowning, though.

"Why isn't this in your records? Something like a severe phobia of vehicles should have been recorded to avoid a situation like this." Hinata blinked wide, long-lashed eyes up at the teacher, tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy.

"I was supposed to write something like that down?"

""""Yes!"""" Was the very loud consensus.

"Ah. Sorry about that." Hinata shifted slightly, and then sprung off the ground to land on his feet, stretching out and smiling at the satisfying pops that sounded. "Well, sorry for holding everyone up like that. I've got my own way of getting there, so don't worry. We should hurry and get there, I think we're going to be late…" The abrupt change in atmosphere made the rest of the team freeze, and when they recovered, Hinata had already run off to wherever this unique transportation method was. A dark aura grew from Daichi.

"I'm going to _have a talk_ with him as soon as we get there. Running off like that after a panic attack, does he think we aren't going to worry…" His snarled out mumbles had the teens around him inching away. Of course, they were kinda pissed off too, though their anger was just to cover up their worry. As long as vehicles weren't involved, they wouldn't let him out of their sight. After all, even the most tsundere among them were worried.

Yeah, this incident would not be easily forgotten. Many a overprotective, borderline possessive reaction in the future would partially stem from this moment. Of course it also stemmed from his penchant for trouble, the fact that they eventually fell for him ( _hard),_ and how he was a popular target for harassment.

For now though, they were just worried, overprotective teammates who had just gone through a harrowing experience, and had the subject of their worry run out on them.

* * *

 **Bird Bones**

Karasuno, Aoba Johsai, Nekoma, Fukurodani, and Date Tech were all at a joint training camp. Together. Obviously, there was conflict, what with the clashing personalities, bad histories, and team rivalries. Who though this was a good idea, again? Either way, it had happened, and the only thing anyone could get along for, was Hinata. Of course, getting along in this particular topic inspired even more conflict, for a different reason.

A few days into the camp, after an exhausting day of training was over and done with, they were all hanging around in the cafeteria. The atmosphere was ridiculously tense with them all gathered in one area, and the only one who seemed oblivious was Hinata, who bounced back and forth between teams freely. Every time he moved to a different person, sparks seemed to fly.

It had been only a short while ago that they found out about his raven heritage, and they still found it slightly shocking. However, desensitization to the supernatural was swift, thanks to how, now that they knew, Hinata had no qualms in switching forms whenever he so pleased. One day he had even switched genders, and that was a particularly memorable time.

Anyways, Bokuto had gotten curious, and asked Hinata to explain a little more than he already had about his species. Naturally, Hinata obliged the request with his usual excitement. Everyone quieted down somewhat to listen attentively.

"Alright, well, we're born gender-neutral. But when we're old enough, we usually pick what gender we feel suits us best. I'm kinda rare, what with how sometimes I feel like being a girl, even though I usually stick with being a guy. No one seems to care very much though, when they picked on me about it, it was just because it was me, not cause they had a problem with it. Humans are pretty different there. Your species always gets fired up over things like that." Hinata shifted slightly, thinking about what else there was to say.

"Well, we've got magic, and once we hit 21 we stop aging physically. Generally though, you still have the mentality of a kid until around 30, and then you aren't a teen until 35, and you reach adulthood at sixty. We've got these things called maturities too, that we go through 3 times. In between them we don't really change aside from our height, but whenever one hits, which depends on the person but is generally around 11, 16, and 21, some drastic change happens. I mostly can't wait till I'm 21 again, cause my bones will finally get denser."

Kuroo blinked lazily, leaning forward. "Your bones? What's important about that?"

Hinata pouted just thinking about it (everyone came close to a heart attack). "Well, my species is sorta based off how humans thought about birds when we were created. People thought birds were super lightweight, had thin, hollow, breakable bones, and they associated black-feathered birds like ravens with magic. So then we were created based off that sorta thing. Birds actually have super dense, strong, and heavy bones, though. So they were wrong. But we were made with the concept of fragile bones in mind, so it's really easy to break them."

Akaashi spoke up, whacking Bokuto across the head before he managed to say the doubtless idiotic thing he was opening his mouth for. "Your bones seem fine, however."

"That's because of this thing!" Hinata held up his arm, tugging down his wristband to show off the device underneath it. "It makes my body closer to that of a human, so I don't have the advantages I would in my totally natural form. I'm just a little stronger than normal when I put my mind to it. My bones don't break as easy, either. I've got a memory of when I didn't have it, that I guess I can show you guys." At their excited nods, his eyes glowed brighter than usual, and orange hair lifted in an invisible breeze. His wings, that were currently out, tensed and spread a few inches wider than their usual resting position.

He waved his hand through the air, and wavering strands of orange magic drifted off his finger tips. Rapidly, they filled the air, and it didn't take long for an image to form. Jaws dropped at seeing a Hinata who was older than the current one. "I think I was 19 when this happened?" They couldn't take their eyes away, even as faces rapidly heated up. Only the most stoic among them kept it down to a light shade of pink. Wow. They thought he was attractive _now_. Well, he was. But looking like _that_ was just asking for trouble. "It's got a third person perspective too, which is pretty cool, though I dunno how it works."

Watching in interest, they observed the memory playing out. Hinata was in human form, and wandering around a park. Soon enough, a child ran up to him. They stared as the two rapidly bonded, the childish adult getting along with the kid easily. Hinata looked wistfully at the scene, and sighed. "That was fun while it lasted, at least." They were confused at what he meant, but found out quickly. The excited child in the memory reached up, grabbing hold of his forearm to pull him along.

Obviously, the crunch of breaking bone that sounded was an unplanned consequence. The memory-Hinata gave a surprised cry of pain, and the child, shocked by the turn of events, let go and ran away. The scene dispersed before their shocked gazes, as Hinata grabbed his forearm in phantom pain. "Fwaa, that really hurt! I think the doctor said my arm was crushed into several pieces when I got it checked out."

Tsukishima, still with slightly wide eyes, blurted out his thoughts. "Why was that so severe? Even if you have weak bones, a kid's grip shouldn't be able to do that!"

The surrounding people weakly agreed. They hadn't expected that turn of events, and were slightly freaked out by just how easy it was to hurt him. That crunch turned their stomachs as well, and the faint of heart barely avoided throwing up.

"It's pretty much magic. Even light pressure breaks bones easily, not just because of delicate bones, but because our own magic crushes them at light pressure. Others of my kind use their own magic to cushion their grip so that doesn't happen, but humans can't do that. This device makes our bones closer to a humans, and also keeps our magic from acting like that. It's pretty lucky that over the years, we've adapted enough that this stops when we turn 21."

"Yeah," Suga muttered breathily, slightly in shock at what he saw, "Lucky."

Unfortunately, the disease by the name of chronic overprotectiveness developed even further on that day, to the point that even _Hinata_ noticed sometimes.

* * *

 **Omake: Brother Complex**

Natsu is surprisingly intense, for such a shrimp. Well, that was the thought running through everyone's heads, as they were stared down by a small child. The little girl was clinging onto Hinata, and he was laughing while he fluttered around with her on his shoulders.

Whenever he couldn't see her, which considering she was on his shoulders, was the whole time, she shot them a glare harsh enough to peel paint. Anytime Hinata spoke to her though, her personality did a 180, becoming the sweet, adoring little sister. Honestly, that mercurial personality was kind of frightening.

As Natsu looked up from another excited conversation with Hinata, their break from being glared at came to an end. They couldn't fight back either, because first of all she was a little girl, which wouldn't have stopped several of them, except for the other thing. She was the little sister Hinata adored. If they tried something, it would doubtless be turned on them somehow.

That was how the Karasuno team ended up silently tolerating being glared at by a small child every time they went over to Hinata's place to eat. Which was often, because his cooking was absolutely divine, and it meant spending more time with Hinata. They subtly bragged about this to the other teams, who were clearly jealous. Unfortunately this backfired when they started showing up to eat at Hinata's house as well, which often turned into a sleepover.

If the word sleepover can be translated as "an excuse to look at Hinata's sleeping face."

They only found out later that Hinata never slept in his own house unless they were there, which was also why Hinata's mother welcomed them so exuberantly, and why Natsu grudgingly didn't harass them at night. Anything to make Hinata stay. This revelation led to another series of events, but that's a different story.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it. Please review, and notify me of any typos.**


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